With the summer holidays done and the first day back to school fast approaching, there is always so much to get done and so little time to do it especially when we are still in holiday mode. For many of us in BC, Canada, the uncertainty around schools being open is mounting and the possibility of school not actually starting is a very real and disturbing one. In the event that school doesn’t start, and you are a stay at home Mum, I thought it might be helpful to put together a list of tips and ideas to help you get back on track, kick-start some sort of routine and get the most out of the days for you and your children particularly if in the K to Grade 5 range. 1. Reinstate a routine as if your children were actually going to school: This will not only prepare your children for when school does start but it will also allow you to get more things done. To avoid the holiday habits going on endlessly, I encourage you to get your children up, dressed and fed at the same time you would as if it were a school day. 2. …Read more →
Monthly Archives: August 2014
TAKE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE – Step 7
First and foremost, I would like to WELCOME all the new subscribers to the YPP blog – thank you. It is exciting to have you on board and I hope that you will find the blogs valuable and informative. For those of you who are new to it, I have been writing a 7 part blog over the course of the summer on the 7 steps recommended for “Taking Time for your Life”. I encourage you to read the previous blogs pertaining to this so that this final blog in the series makes more sense to you. Last week I discussed the sixth step in Cheryl Richardson’s book “Take Time for Your Life”. This week I will be looking at the final step, step 7 and applying it to how we can help ourselves become better parents or the parents we want to be. Step 7: “Don’t let life get in the way of your spiritual well-being – connect to your inner wisdom and create a personal practice”. The most common element of every spiritual story Richardson hears is – a deep sense of love and connection with a powerful Divine force. That force is different for all of us …Read more →
TAKE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE – Step 6
Last week I discussed the fifth step in Cheryl Richardson’s book “Take Time for Your Life”. This week I will be looking at Step 6 and applying it to how we can help ourselves become better parents or the parents we want to be. Step 6: “If you feel lonely or isolated, learn how to surround yourself with high-quality relationships that support, challenge and encourage you to be your best”. I consider myself very fortunate to have grown up in a small village in Scotland and remember my childhood with the fondest of memories. There were only 3000 people in this village and the sense of community, even as a child, was palpable. Everyone knew who you were, everyone looked out for you and we all really felt like we belonged and above all felt extremely safe. I am sure that some of you reading this may have similar memories of their childhood and the sense of community that was had and felt. I have to wonder if in the space of just one generation we are somewhat losing our sense of community and it deeply saddens me. There are possibly many reasons for it, one of the main ones …Read more →
TAKE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE – Step 5
Last week I discussed the fourth step in Cheryl Richardson’s book “Take Time for Your Life”. This week I will be looking at Step 5 and applying it to how we can help ourselves become better parents or the parents we want to be. Step 5: “Kick the adrenaline habit! Identify the things that fuel you and discover healthy, new sources of energy.” In Step 3, we looked at the things that drain us and the things that fuel us but we have to know where we are getting our energy from in order to guarantee that we are getting the right type of fuel. Richardson expands on this further during step 5. She describes two types of fuel; premium fuel (derived from things like exercise, nutritious food, love and support) and junk fuel (derived from things like fear, anxiety, and external stimulants like caffeine and sugar). These junk fuels all contribute to the most widely used fuel in America today – ADRENALINE. Many of us are familiar with the term: “fight, flight or freeze”. This is one of our in built systems which is used in emergency situations or should only be used in such situations. Sadly, today, many …Read more →
TAKE TIME FOR YOUR LIFE – Step 4
Last week I discussed the third step in Cheryl Richardson’s book “Take Time for Your Life”. This week I will be looking at Step 4. The content in this chapter is highly specialized and applying it to how we can help ourselves become better parents or the parents we want to be is one I do not believe to be in my remit as a Parenting Advisor! I will however, share with you what I took away from it. Step 4: “If you feel trapped by money, investing in your financial health will stop making you feel like a victim.” It is interesting to note that in Richardson’s work as a coach, she claims that a lack of financial reserves is the biggest obstacle to her clients living the lives they most want. She is convinced that once you take full responsibility for your financial health, money stops being a source of frustration and starts to flow into your life naturally. Having read this chapter, I feel that Richardson makes some very valid points and gives sound advice for gaining clarity on financial health. This ties into the previous chapter where she talked about the things in our lives that …Read more →
